State Adds 7,500 Preschool Slots For Low-Income Families

An additional 7,500 preschool slots are now available to low-income families in California thanks to new funds from the California Department of Education to expand the early childhood education budget this year, education department officials said Friday.

The $67 million for the new preschool slots is part of $264 million in new funding that will add 11,500 preschool slots overall and 1,000 slots with priority for infants and toddlers, according to the California Department of Education.

These preschools spaces will partially reinstate cuts that were made during the recession, when California eliminated 100,000 subsidized preschools and child care slots due to declines in state revenues, according to the Department of Education.

Research has shown that quality early childhood education shows a significant return on investment, making children less likely to drop out of high school and have higher lifetime earnings, according to the Department of Education.

Every dollar invested in high-quality preschool saves society seven dollars, according to the Department of Education.

“By age five, low-income children are more than two years behind in language development,” said State Senate President pro tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento). “It is smarter and more prudent to make this investment in success up front, than paying for the costs of failure in the end.”

--Bay City News

--Image via Wikimedia